Month: September 2014

I believe I mentioned purchasing a car a few months ago on my blog. Well the day we picked it up from the dealership, June 21st, one of the key fob parts of the integrated key fobs (totally off topic, every time I write out or hear the word fob, it makes me laugh, I don’t know why…) did not work at all. Within a few days the second one stopped working.

Since then I have been in contact with the dealership every few days at first then pretty much weekly from then on, trying to get them to fix the issue. Which is that I need two new key fobs. At $150.00 for each fob, which is essentially in this case the top part of the key and has the lock, unlock button and trunk release buttons and another $100.00 to program them I could not justify paying that myself within a few days of buying the car, especially since one of the key fobs did not work the day I picked the car up and they promised me they would deal with it.

It has been quite a battle since then. Including getting the Better Business Bureau involved and contacting a lawyer’s office for advice. Yesterday they finally called me back within an hour of the BBB contacting them with my complaint, with a “solution”. This was to install an after market remote lock system in my car and providing me with 2 additional key fobs to remotely lock and unlock the car. Now they mentioned this to me once before in all the calling back and forth and I told them no then, on advise from the Ford dealership near by who said it would likely void the extended warranty I purchased on my car when purchasing th

After mulling this over for a few minutes (very few at that) I said no, I was not happy with that and I wanted it fixed properly. I explained why. One, this would mean that I would have 2 fobs on each key chain as the original one is literally part of the key, as you can see below, if you turn it over the buttons are on the other side.

Two, being that I just purchased the car, and picked it up and that it was a certified used car from a dealership and not just some Joe Blow off the streets, this stuff should have been inspected and ensured that it was working. The ad for the vehicle said it had remote keyless entry with two integrated key/key fobs. Once would only assume that meant they worked!

The fact that the one key did not work at all, 100% dead, would not so much as even elicit a squeak out of the car (the horn sounds when unlocked and locked in 2 short beeps) or lights to flash (the tail lights and head lights flash twice as well), then that means that either they knew about the issue and planned on not telling me, or that the technician who checked out the car in the inspection either did not bother the check the keys, checked one but not the other, tested only once (as the second key was intermittent) or knew but did not tell the sales team.

Which is not my fault! The lawyer said it was a breach of the contract they signed saying everything was checked out, either out of neglect to properly check things out or that they knew but did not plan on telling me.

And three, why would I allow them to install something in my car that was not being done at an authorized dealer, by an authorized technician and that would likely void the warranty that added an extra $1500 to my car loan! Simply because they were too cheap to fix it properly through an authorized dealership (which they themselves were but did not have the equipment to re-program the car) and wanted to cut corners.

I confirmed with the insurance company that it would void the warranty and that put a HELL NO to the whole thing. I put my foot down, called them back this morning, threatening to take it to the media and also to officially involve the lawyer who has so kindly given me free advice but advised they would be glad to take the case on should I want to pursue it, if they did not fix it properly. He called me back an hour later with the okay to take the car to Ford and have them fix it and foot the bill to Mazda (who I bought the car through).

I called the Ford dealership and spoke to the woman in the service department there who confirmed that the fobs were on order and she would call me as soon as they came in.

So take that City Madza for trying to pull a fast one on me! Never ever ever again will I ever buy a car from you.

It’s been a really warm September over all. We had a few cooler days but mostly in the high teens and 20’s (Celsius) which is higher then normal for this time of year. It’s been beautiful though and I am not complaining. In some places the leaves are starting to change now near the end of September but other areas are still so green. It’s like living in two worlds.

Since I spent a good chunk of September sick I did not get out a lot with my camera. However I did a few weekends ago go to Oak Island like I mentioned before. It made me sicker for a day or two after but I am glad I still went. I was able to take some pictures but really nothing has changed much since last time I was there. It was still a nice drive there and nice walk through the island to the money pit.

Oak Island

[cycloneslider id=”oak-island”]

Today we went for a bit of a drive through the Musquodoboit Valley. It was so pretty to see the leaves that have started to change. It’s really putting me in the fall mood. Too bad the weather is not yet co-operating.

Musquodoboit Valley

I finished the week with no major issues and have taken an extra hour a day next week to help catch up on some bills and stuff. I am feeling increasingly better and am really encouraged to keep going. I am still coughing but it’s manageable for the most part now. I am excited to be back to work and looking forward again to the cooler days of fall.

Over the last few weeks I have had a lot of time to really think about where I am in my career. Which really is just a job not a career, but at least it’s one I really enjoy. It can become tedious though as I am sure even a career can be. I have been thinking though that with my knowledge of technology in classrooms (such as SMART Boards, projectors, etc) and with my love of kids, of education and of children with special needs, that I am really not 100% where I want to be.

I am determined now that I am going to go back to school if I can get a student loan and take Early Childhood Education (ECE) and also take American Sign Language and then ASL Interpretation. ECE and ASL Interpretation are both 2 year courses and regular ASL courses (levels 1-8 I believe) are the pre-requisites for the ASL interpretation which I would have to do first, maybe while doing the ECE if I can handle it. My ultimate goal I think would be working as either a teachers aid or an ASL interpreter or possibly be able to do both.

Next week I am going to call student loans or email them if I can find an email and see if I am eligible for a student loan and then I am going to get started applying. I should likely be able to continue working full time (well maybe reduced to 20-30 hours in the summer months) as most of it is correspondence as long as it would not affect me getting a loan.

I really think I can do it and I really think I should do it. I am a little concerned with going back into debt, however if I keep my grades up there are grants and funding programs that I may qualify for which will help me pay it off along with the increased earning potential. Plus I just want to be doing something that I think I would really enjoy. The bonus would be more income coming in for when Cory goes on permanent disability in 2 years.

I feel like in some aspect my life is not quite complete and I need to fill that void by doing what I feel I would be really good at and born to do. If I end up never being able to be a mother at least I will be able to still be able to make a difference in at least one child’s life before I die.